Canadian Authorities Cleared Penguin Random House

Bertelsmann welcomes decisions by Canadian Competition Bureau and
Department of Canadian Heritage

Another approval without conditions

Closing once all official approvals are in

GÜTERSLOH, Germany, April 20, 2013 /CNW/ - The Canadian Competition
Bureau and the Department of Canadian Heritage have cleared the planned
merger of Penguin Group and Random House without conditions. The two
international media companies Bertelsmann and Pearson welcome the
Canadian authorities' decision as another important step on the way to
completing the combination of their respective publishing companies
Random House and Penguin Group to Penguin Random House.

On February 14, 2013, the U.S. Department of Justice was the first
authority to approve the planned merger - also without conditions. This
was followed by approvals in Australia and New Zealand. On April 5, the
EU Commission in Brussels also approved the planned combination without
conditions. Other regulatory authorities are still reviewing the
transaction. After all necessary approvals have been received,
Bertelsmann and Pearson can close the transaction. The two companies
are confident that the approvals will be forthcoming during the course
of the year.

The new publishing group, whose planned establishment the two partners
had announced last October, will be 53 percent owned by Bertelsmann and
47 percent owned by Pearson. Penguin Random House will encompass all
Random House and Penguin Group publishing units in the U.S. and U.K.,
Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India and South Africa, as well as
Penguin's activities in China and Random House's publishers in Spain
and Latin America.

About Bertelsmann
Bertelsmann is an international media company whose core divisions
encompass television (RTL Group), book publishing (Random House),
magazine publishing (Gruner + Jahr), services (Arvato), and printing
(Be Printers) in some 50 countries. In 2012, the company's businesses,
with their more than 100,000 employees, generated revenues of €16.1
billion. Bertelsmann stands for a combination of creativity and
entrepreneurship that empowers the creation of first-rate media,
communications, and service offerings to inspire people around the
world and to provide innovative solutions for customers.